Electronic House Call - July 15, 2005

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - July 15, 2005

I am back in Gig Harbor for about a week and a half, enjoying the summer weather and (perpetually) trying to get organized. The project of the moment is working out the details for a program in Kiev, Ukraine next month. With luck we will get the final details sorted out today.

WOW!
When the time finally expired on the June survey, 127 of you had shared some great ideas on what you were doing -- or what you had seen other doing -- to create the WOW with your guests. I was particularly pleased by the International response. Canadians are always strong contributors but this time we also had great ideas from South Africa, Bulgaria, Mexico, Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. That global perspective really broadens the possibilities.

After he reviewed the list, Jeffrey Summers raised an interesting point. He said: "It is very interesting to see that to some people a certain practice is a 'WOW' when to others it is just a 'doing your job' kinda thing. Lots of opportunity still left, isn't there?"

To which I responded: "It is only a WOW if the market hasn't seen it before. Once it becomes commonplace -- even in your own operation -- you must do something different to delight and amaze them. To me, the real benefit of a compilation like this is that it gives you ideas for what you can do next ... and you must always be looking for what you can do next."

Would you like to have 24 pages -- nearly 17,000 words of wisdom -- that outline hundreds of great ideas to make your guests happy and set you apart from your competition? This information, properly applied, could be worth thousands of dollars in additional sales ... but for another week, you can get an instant download of all of it for only $27.00 Just click the link below.

Click here to get your own copy of WOW Ideas

SPEED REVISITED
In response to my mini rant last week on the cost of slow service, Rob LeMaster of the Arizona Restaurant & Hospitality Association had this to share:

"Speed Sells" ... and so does common sense. My wife and I had a recent weeknight without our daughter, so we met for dinner at a new restaurant close to our home. She is one of the millions of diners following a pretty strict low carb diet and unfortunately there was not much on the menu except salads for her. She wanted to get a steak or more to the point Medallions of Tenderloin, but all of the side dish options were starch.

She asked the server if she could substitute a small side salad instead and was told no, but she could buy a dinner salad at $4.25 on top of the $14.50 entree. We would have paid a buck or two for the side salad, but even the manager said no.

So instead of a $14 to $15 entree sale, they sold a $6.95 entree salad and created a non-customer for life (she's much tougher than I am).

Since we were in separate cars, I waited to talk to the manager and introduce myself and ask why they were so strict (read stupid) with the policy. It seems that this restaurant is the first US venture for an owner of four very successful restaurants in the state of Sonora, Mexico and he has told the staff - no substitutions at anytime, because that is how it works for him in Mexico.

Lack of flexibility in a new environment is going to hurt this operator in the long run. Thanks for letting me have a rant of my own.

THE JULY SURVEY
We are halfway through the year ... a good time to re-examine goals and priorities. This month's survey asks how the first half of your year went and what you hope to accomplish in the remaining six months.

Why would you take time to share information like that? First of all, because it will force you to think about what you want and how you are going to get it. That discipline in itself would be worth the effort. Without a plan, you are just making it up.

The second reason is that it will help me determine what I should be looking for and writing about in the coming months to give you as much assistance as I can in your quest. Without some sort of guidance, I would just be making it up, too!

So in the immortal words of Jerry McGuire, "Help me help you." Take a couple of minutes to participate in the July survey and help us both out.

(We have all of five responses so far. Surely we can do better than that!) Click here to add your thoughts to the July survey

THE PERPETUAL QUESTION
What did you learn from your staff today?

I learned that one staff member was disappointed in her requested time off because of a canoe trip being canceled ... but enjoyed playing lots of Marco Polo with her family. With a hearty "we missed you and we are glad you are back" she picked up her step and seemed just as excited to be back.

I learned that another staff member is making an "A" in one of his college classes. We went online in my office to view his records, still anticipating the final update for his second and hopefully last class 'til graduation! -- Diane Kauker, Folk's Folly Prime Steakhouse, Memphis, TN

My perpetual question is really a lot deeper -- and a lot more important -- than it may sound.

Try it. You'll like it.

What did you learn from your staff today? The most effective managers I know can give a fresh answer to this question every day -- no problem. If you do not have a response readily at hand, what does that say about the quality of your listening?

The worrisome part to me is that after years of posting this question and months of giving you a place to answer the question, only 25 people have done so. I hope that is not indicative of the amount of effective listening that is happening out there.

I will continue to collect your answers to this important question. Just click on the link below and contribute your answer for the common good.

What did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?

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